A vaginal ring containing dapivirine (DPV) has shown moderate protective efficacy against HIV-1 acquisition, but the activity of DPV against efavirenz (EFV)-and nevirapine (NVP)-resistant viruses that could be transmitted is not well defined. We investigated DPV cross-resistance of subtype C HIV-1 from individuals on failing NVP-or EFV-containing antiretroviral therapy (ART) in South Africa. Plasma samples were obtained from individuals with Ͼ10,000 copies of HIV RNA/ml and with HIV-1 containing at least one non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase (NNRTI) mutation. Susceptibility to NVP, EFV, and DPV in TZM-bl cells was determined for recombinant HIV-1 LAI containing bulk-amplified, plasma-derived, full-length reverse transcriptase sequences. Fold change (FC) values were calculated compared with a composite 50% inhibitory concentration (IC 50 ) from 12 recombinant subtype C HIV-1 LAI plasmaderived viruses from treatment-naive individuals in South Africa. A total of 25/100 (25%) samples showed Ͼ500-FCs to DPV compared to treatment-naive samples with IC 50 s exceeding the maximum DPV concentration tested (132 ng/ml). A total of 66/ 100 (66%) samples displayed 3-to 306-FCs, with a median IC 50 of 17.6 ng/ml. Only 9/100 (9%) samples were susceptible to DPV (FC Ͻ 3). Mutations L100I and K103N were significantly more frequent in samples with Ͼ500-fold resistance to DPV compared to samples with a Յ500-fold resistance. A total of 91% of samples with NNRTI-resistant HIV-1 from individuals on failing first-line ART in South Africa exhibited Ն3-fold cross-resistance to DPV. This level of resistance exceeds expected plasma concentrations, but very high genital tract DPV concentrations from DPV ring use could block viral replication. It is critically important to assess the frequency of transmitted and selected DPV resistance in individuals using the DPV ring.KEYWORDS dapivirine, NNRTI, HIV-1, antiretroviral therapy, cross-resistance, drug resistance, human immunodeficiency virus, non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor S ustained-release formulations of antiretrovirals could substantially decrease the incidence of HIV-1 infection in sub-Saharan Africa by improving product adherence compared to daily preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) (1). Dapivirine (DPV) is a potent di-aryl-pyrimidine (DAPY) derivative in the non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI) class of antiretrovirals. The development of DPV for antiretroviral therapy was halted due to suboptimal oral pharmacokinetics (2). Instead, it was formulated as a 25-mg slow-release vaginal ring for HIV-1 prevention because of its favorable safety profile and physical and chemical attributes. Recent phase III DPV ring studies in over 4,500 HIV-1-negative female participants in ASPIRE (MTN-020) (3) and the Ring Study